The UN General Assembly and imperialist dictates

Remarks uttered by United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and US President Barack Obama at the UN General Assembly are of paramount significance to the constant oppression faced by Palestinians. Once again, discourse has been dominated by humanitarian concerns divested of political ramifications, while upholding the duplicitous role of the UN as one enshrining progress as responsibility.

In his address, Ban stated: “After the Second World War, the founding of the United Nations was a feat of global resolve. The post-war planners were driven not only by the idea of ‘never again’, but by a vision of what the world could be if we ‘unite our strength’.” While the idea is inscribed within the UN Charter, it conveniently eliminates the fact that upholding the fable of justice rests with the imperialist predators generating constant turmoil among resistant countries. Plunder and division to achieve domination has been the aim of the imperialist domination since its inception – a sanctioned continuation of previous violence under the auspices of international law.

In this regard, it is easy to decipher the UN secretary-general’s endorsement of another divisionary plan in Palestine – the imperialist two-state conspiracy. “After the latest tragedy in Gaza, Palestinians and Israelis seem more polarised than ever. If we do not save the two-state solution, we will be left in a state of permanent hostilities.” Inequality, therefore, remains an integral feature of the UN – besides discriminating between powerful and smaller nations, its perpetual endorsement of Israel’s settler-colonialism is an extension of the earlier divisions wrought by imperialism, with more serious implications with regards to the fragmentation of people and territory.

In the case of Obama, the rhetoric supersedes all expectations. The prime emphasis is on manipulating truth as an external factor, such as: “Too often, we have failed to enforce international norms when it’s inconvenient to do so.” Another hyperbole uttered by Obama is: “We are here because others realised that we gain more from cooperation than conquest.”

The UN’s existence is to enforce cooperation in conquest, as has been evident within the international arena in different decades. Perhaps most telling of all is the following excerpt from a remark aimed at the political situation between Russia and Ukraine, which can be applied to decades of imperialist interference in Palestine. “This is a vision of the world in which might makes right – a world in which one nation’s borders can be redrawn by another.”

Redrawing borders is a defining feature of imperialist dictates, nowhere as pronounced as the blatant disregard for the indigenous population of Palestine and the condoned progress of Zionist settler-colonialism; the latter raising serious issues as to the definition of “civilians” with respect to willing accomplices in colonised territories.

Reiterating the two-state fabrication as equity resonates only within the entities intent upon Palestine’s total elimination – a stance that is embodied as a “principle” by the US president. With the unsustainable erroneously disguised as a plausible and peaceful solution, the UN will ensure utmost opposition to proper solutions such as the elimination of Israel’s settler-colonial state as a preliminary measure towards justice for Palestinians.

The views expressed in this article belong to the author and do not necessarily reflect the editorial policy of Middle East Monitor.